March 2002

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

"…the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance." (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

Bobbie's last The Way Home newsletter, written in late January, began "As I lay in my hospital bed…" He never left the hospital, never went home to his wife and family, but instead went to his eternal home on February 14. His death on the feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, both evangelizers of Russia, is fitting for someone who fought, worked, and prayed for the conversion of that country.

Bobbie Cavnar was truly a man of God. "Go out to all the world and preach the Good News" was his way of life. He did all in his capacity to spread the Word of God to the ends of the earth. Tireless in his efforts to evangelize God's people, he burned with the passion of a personal relationship with God, and yearned to share that closeness with others. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he wanted people to know the Jesus he knew.

He loved reading your prayer requests. He prayed personally for each individual intention, and many miracles sprang from his devotion to intercessory prayer that he shared with all of us. We who were closest to him believe that this profound ability to pray for others was a special gift from God. All your prayers are now being placed on the altar here in our Chapel in the offices of The Way Home. They are now being prayed over by our resident chaplain, Fr. Bob Hilz, all of the staff, and our Community of God's Delight.

Many will ask "What will happen to The Way Home?" We plan to continue and even expand, as Bobbie himself wanted. I will host the program for the time being. We will also continue with our weekly program on EWTN and many other cable stations. For those of you in the Dallas area and metroplex, we are being broadcast by Channel 52 Sunday mornings at 5 a.m. As it says in the Scriptures: "Jesus rose early in the morning and prayed."

Enclosed with this letter, you will find a biography and tribute to Bobbie and his achievements. After his death, memories and letters thanksgiving about this remarkable man and his blessed life came in from all around the world. You can read many of these tributes at our web site: www.Lumen2000.com. Here are a few that we would like to share with you:

JOE TINKER: (a Co-Founder of the Community of God's Delight): "Bob was a brother and father to me...both at the same time. For the last 30 years, since 1972, he was an intimate part of my life and the life of my family. His Wake Service brought into focus how complex and diverse of a man he was. How could one person have so many lives, be so many places, know so many people?

"The most marvelous thing was to observe Bob's reactions once he got a grasp of what God was saying. He would spring into action, use his abundant talents, and not stop until the objective was obtained. All through the years of sharing community life with him, he acted when he was sure what God was saying. And he would not act if he wasn't sure. I am reminded of a scripture, which I keep posted on my desk calendar. A scripture that typifies Bob's behavior in this regard. Ex 33:14. 'I, myself, will go with you and give you success. If you aren't going with us, don't let us move a step from this place.'"

JIM CAVNAR (Eldest son): "Tonight I want to pay tribute to my father. He was a father to me, to Becky, to Mary, to Nick, to Chris and to Dick and he became a father to Betsy, to Mike, and Chris and Cindy, and Anna and Kay. He loved us and sacrificed for us. He took pride in taking care of us. This is a letter I wrote to him, after he became ill.

"'Dear Dad, more than anything I thank you that you are most responsible for my being able to experience God as a loving Father. I know that the reason I have no difficulty knowing that God loves me and cares about me is because I've always experienced that from you. I've always known that I can talk to you about any problems I was facing, that you would not only give me sound advise, but that you would also communicate your commitment to me. I always knew that you were there for me, even if I never actually discussed some problem or difficulty with you.'

"His impact on us was very profound. And I think that maybe the reason was is that his impact as a father upon us was so profound that even if he might have been there half time, which I frankly don't remember, but even so, it had a full time impact.

"The day that Dad died I got up in the night when Becky called and I prayed the prayers from the Roman Ritual that I know that he had prayed so many times with you brothers and sisters here. And I found myself far from feeling sad at that moment and obviously we feel sad, but I found myself feeling almost jubilant and I found myself speaking to him and saying to him: "You did it Dad, you fought the good fight, you finished the race, you kept the faith, Dad you did it."

ALENA ROJIKOVA (Slovakia): "You are for me personally great example of how life should be lived as Christian, as believer, as follower of Jesus Christ, how we should share our love, our appreciation with people, how to give ourselves to the service of other brothers and sisters, how to include everything what we are, what we have for general goodness... ability to be such a good instrument of God."

BRIAN SMITH (President of the Catholic Fraternity, Australia): "Bobbie can be known as 'magnanimity of Spirit.' If I were to think as to how I would identify him, I would say that Bobbie had an enormous heart, not only for the Community here in Dallas, but for the whole world, even bigger than the Church. He was a man who had a marvelous vision of bringing the Gospel, the love of Jesus to the whole world. He yearned for the will of God to be known, because as soon as he would grasp the possibility of what God would want for His people, Bobbie embraced it and it became a reality for him.

"Bobbie, on so many occasions, as we would meet with the Holy Father in his private chapel or in the audiences with him; it was a marvelous encounter to meet the Holy Father so many times. Bobbie was a man of the Church, he loved the Church, and he desired to see its message spread throughout the world. An old joke about some people who weren't Christians, in the square of St. Peter's, where the Pope says the Angelus and then gives a little message, and the story is told that one of these non-Christians said, "Who is that up there?" And the reply given was, "I don't know who the man in white is, but I know the other one is Bobbie Cavnar."

We will miss him terribly - each day has its moments of mourning. But as St. Paul said of himself, we can say about Bobbie: he ran the race, fought the good fight, and now receives his eternal reward.

Instead of a director and leader here on earth, in our daily tasks, we now have a new intercessor standing in the presence of God. The challenge he leaves us is to keep alive his vision and continue the work he began - evangelizing God's people through the latest in modern media. The staff he assembled here, following the example he set, will strive to keep creating the high-quality programming he expected and you have enjoyed.

I believe that Bobbie's prayer and deepest desire would be that you, who have prayed for and supported this ministry for many years, would continue with us to keep this legacy alive. We need your gifts of prayer and financial assistance to keep The Way Home going strong and fulfill the vision God gave to Bobbie. There is no better way to memorialize his extraordinary life and his glorious service to God.

May God bless you and lead you through the remainder of our Lenten journey, to the sorrow and mystery of the Passion, and finally to the joy and peace of the Resurrection.

Sincerely,

Chris Cavnar